Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 87 Mobilization and Riot

"Oh, Zeon, I'm back!"

On the transport ship returning to Zeon, looking at his hometown so close, Char Aznable couldn't help feeling a little sad.

Although his homeland was nearby, he still had to hide his identity and was even separated from his family, unable to see them. He also had to serve under the enemy who killed his father. The bitterness of this was naturally unimaginable.

But when the transport ship docked at the port, he quickly picked up his bag and walked off the spaceship quickly. As soon as he walked into the hall, Char frowned.

The atmosphere is wrong!

He had been to the Federation and other sides during this period, and had seen the waiting halls in those places. They were busy and crowded. Although Zim City was not as good as those places before, it was also an important transportation hub.

But now, there are very few people in the spacious hall, and there is not even a staff member at the security exit. There are only a handful of passengers moving around in the entire hall. Instead, there are countless Kilian secret police wearing dark coats and black hats, who are not even pretending to be anything. They even look like hurried passengers.

"What are you doing? Why can't I leave?"

Just as Char was looking around and walking towards the exit, a commotion suddenly broke out in a corner of the hall, and a middle-aged woman with a young man was stopped.

"According to the order of the leader Kilian, no young men eligible for military service are allowed to leave the country!"

The cold answer did not scare the woman away. She protected the young man behind her and took out a certificate of honor.

"My husband, his father, just died for this country. Are you so impatient to send his only son to the battlefield?"

"This is an order, please cooperate, ma'am!"

"I refuse. Even if Killian comes today, I will leave here. I am Mrs. Rosa Lucia's secretary. You have no right to stop me!"

Hearing the familiar name, Char suddenly stopped. Rosa Lucia was the legal wife of his father Zeon Deiken, but later, Zeon Deiken lived with his mother Astraea Toa Deiken and raised him and his sister Artesia Deiken.

But later, something happened to Zeon Deiken, and the family of three was forcibly taken to Rosa Lucia's house, and since then, they have been separated by life and death!
At this time, the secret police who had been standing by and watching without making any move quickly stepped forward after the woman shouted that sentence.

"you!"

Before the woman could finish her words, several secret police officers had already taken out their stun guns and pulled the triggers at the woman and the young man. Then, more secret police officers came forward and skillfully carried the two out of the hall.

"What are you looking at? Go your way!"

Noticing someone was watching from the other side, a secret policeman who was obviously the commander noticed this side and immediately scolded them rudely.

Char then turned around and continued walking towards the exit. A jeep painted in Zeon military livery was parked at the door. Three burly men in military uniforms were looking around by the car. When they saw Char coming out, the three men immediately greeted him respectfully.

"Mr. Char, you're finally back. His Highness has been thinking about you every day!"

"Is Karma okay?"

"Well, now that His Highness has been promoted to Major, we've all benefited from it and been promoted to Captain!"

The people who came were none other than Karma's personal guards from the military academy. Because of their meritorious service in protecting the emperor, several of them followed Karma into service in the Principality's army. Not long after, Karma was transferred to the Principality of Zeon's capital defense battalion as commander. Several of his guards also rose in status, from second lieutenants when they just graduated, to captains, promoted twice in a row.

Being promoted twice in one year without any military merit or achievements is rare in the Zeon army, but after all, these people are part of Karma's team!

"What's going on lately? Why are the secret police no longer in disguise?"

"Führer Kilian has already ordered the military mobilization. Now, the secret police are going crazy, arresting people everywhere!"

The captain of the Royal Guard put Char's luggage on the car and said.

"These bastards, using the mobilization order as an excuse, are looting homes and stores everywhere, taking bribes and extorting money. Damn it!"

As the captain spoke, he spat at a secret policeman standing at the gate. Seeing this, the latter immediately wanted to come over and interrogate these officers, but the people around him recognized their identities and grabbed the policeman. Then, the other party could only turn around and leave in disappointment. Their identities as secret policemen were still no match for Kalma's attendants. Even if a conflict arose, in the end, they would be the only ones to be dealt with!
"Has our situation reached this point?"

Char was puzzled, because when he left, Zeon was not in such a bad state.

The Royal Guard said nothing, but started the car and prepared to take Char back to the base to meet Karma.

When the car drove through the city, Xia Ya saw that many shops had been sealed, especially those food stores and supermarkets.

"Currently, the Principality has placed staple foods, non-staple foods, cloth, steel, and many other materials under control. Their sale is no longer permitted. All food on the market will be nationalized!"

The captain of the guards who was driving said this as he turned a corner and then he braked to a stop.

"Damn, these bastards!"

The people in the car were shaken for a moment before they saw that the road ahead of them had been blocked by several military trucks and six-wheeled armored vehicles with the logo of the Führer's Guard. Dozens of soldiers wearing black Führer's Guard uniforms and armed with live ammunition were carrying supplies from a warehouse-like building.

At this moment, a chubby Zeon citizen, who was about the same size as Char's adoptive father, and his family were pushed out of the room crying and shouting, and knelt in front of a guard officer.

The latter took out a flexible data pad and read out in a cold tone.

"According to the order of the Supreme Head of the Principality of Zeon, all war reserves within the Principality are now confiscated and used for military supplies. No one may interfere under any pretext. Violators will be killed without mercy!"

The chubby Zeon citizen could only lower his head and accept it silently, while his wife tightly grasped the child in her arms and sobbed silently.

"What a sin!"

"Stop talking, this is all for the final victory. As long as we defeat the Earth Federation, everyone can live a good life!"

The captain of the guard turned around and gave his men a warning look, then impatiently stuck his head out and cursed at the soldiers who were blocking the road.

"How long will you guys take?"

"Get out of my way! The person in this car is His Highness Karma's distinguished guest. Believe it or not, I'll send your entire family to the decompression chamber!"

After hearing Kalma's name, the guards who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb started to move, directing the vehicles to clear the road.

Fortunately, the previous situation did not occur again on the road afterwards, but it also became more and more desolate. Even in the central urban area of ​​Zim City, there were almost no people. Only the magnificent luxury stores were still shining with bright lights, and the waiters standing at the door were dressed in neat suits, staring at the front meticulously.

"There are not many people here, why are these shops still open?"

"For publicity purposes, haven't you seen the news in recent days? These stores are packed every day. The citizens of Zim are spending lavishly to support the army!"

"No, who would watch that stuff?"

"By the way, I heard that Side6 suffered heavy losses. Is that true?"

Xia didn't want to listen to these heavy things anymore, so he took the initiative to change the subject.

But this topic was obviously quite heavy, because the captain of the guard hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"It's not just heavy losses, it's total annihilation!"

"completely annihilated?"

Char was stunned. This was completely different from what he had heard. What he heard was that Zeon and the Federation suffered heavy losses and the two sides were tied!

"Captain Gihren has blocked the news. We're claiming that we and the Federation suffered heavy losses, but in reality, the Federation's losses were not significant. We only sank one Salamis, but lost two Musai, one Chibe, and one Papua! Two mobile suit squadrons were completely wiped out!"

"Is the federal army's combat effectiveness so strong?"

"It has nothing to do with the Federation Army. According to the information I got from my friends in the Assault Mobile Army next door, our failure was all due to the Federation Army's mobile suits!"

"Mr. Char, do you still remember the Red Dragon?"

Char's brows suddenly raised.

"What do you mean?" "According to rumors, the two battalions and fleets that were destroyed were all done by one person!"

"As expected, judging by his performance, the Federation Army will definitely not waste his talent!"

Char couldn't help but imagine who would win if he were to encounter Macharius in a mobile suit. But unfortunately, he couldn't imagine that the other party was already killing everyone on the battlefield, while he hadn't even operated a mobile suit himself...

"As expected, I shouldn't have been so impulsive in the first place. This might just be a mistake made when I was young!"

Char couldn't help but think that if he hadn't instigated the Karma uprising, he might have become a member of the Zeon mobile suit unit by now. But who knows, it's not impossible that he would have died in Side 6 at that time.

"But the future is uncertain!"

"why?"

"Since the Side 6, our Zaku production has ceased. Now, the Capital Defense Battalion has replaced it with the new Zaku II. If we meet them again, who will win or lose is not certain!"

"Mr. Char, you haven't seen the Zaku 2 yet, right? When we get to the camp, I'll show you around. This thing is much more impressive than an armored car!"

"Really? Then I'm really looking forward to it!"

Afterwards, the car drove out of the city, passed through a forest, and arrived at the headquarters of the Capital Defense Battalion. Although this force was nominally the Capital Defense Battalion, it usually only stood guard in front of important institutions and buildings in the principality. All other functions fell into the hands of the Head of State's Guard.

So, the Defense Battalion at that time was like a nursing home. Everyone ate and drank enough and then slept every day, and occasionally stood guard and fished. But after Karma came, he sent all the guys who were slacking off to Dozle's Space Attack Force, and then transferred a group of people himself, which made the Defense Battalion look brand new.

The reason why they were able to get the Zaku 2 so early was because Dekin gave it to his youngest son as a reward because he saw how serious he was.

As the jeep carrying Char drove out of the forest, he heard the rumbling sound of footsteps, and then, through the swaying trees, Char saw a huge mobile suit striding across the ground.

"Is this Zaku?"

"Char!"

The moment he saw Char appear, Karma, who was discussing tactical arrangements with his men, brightened his eyes. Then, he threw away the things in his hand and rushed forward to give the other party a big hug.

"You've lost weight, Karma!"

"Same to you, Char!"

At this moment, even Char felt the joy of reuniting with an old friend.

"Looks like I'll have to salute you from now on!"

"Really? With your ability, it's only a matter of time before you surpass me!"

"Then I have to serve again first!"

"Then how about joining my defense brigade? You'll be my captain, and I'll be your deputy!"

Karma was immediately excited to share the world with Char.

"I'm afraid this isn't a good idea, Karma. After all, it was me who harmed you in the first place!"

"Don't talk about the past anymore, it's over!

"That's fine, but before that, I have to go see Principal Dozle!"

"That's right, your file is still in his hands!"

Karma slapped his head and thought that if Char wanted to return to the Zeon army, he would naturally have to take back the sealed files from the principal.

So, he took Char to find Dozle again.

"That's great, it's great that you're back!"

Dozle also welcomed Char's return. He had always been optimistic about this guy. Unfortunately, in order to appease the prince's anger, he had to let Char go. Now, Dekin had long forgotten who Char was.

"Brother, let Char join my defense team, okay?"

"Karma, Char's abilities are truly exceptional. Do you understand?"

Dozle frowned, wondering how his brother could be so naive even though he was already an official. Char was so capable, why did he let him stay in a service unit? People like him should be sent to lead troops in battle!

"but!"

"Nothing, but I'll enlist him in the Space Attack Force. You haven't received MS training yet, have you?"

"Yes, General!"

"Then, report to the Attack Army Training Team tomorrow! Master the piloting of the mobile suit as soon as possible, we're running out of time!"

"As ordered!"

Karma naturally could not refute her brother's arrangement. After all, the other party was right. The Defense Battalion was too small and not suitable for Char. Instead of letting him stay there, it would be better to let him go to the grassroots troops for training. When he can lead the army independently, Char can be transferred there!
After reporting to the training team, Char quickly became the kid the instructors talked about. He completed the basic learning faster than others, then moved on to simulator driving, and was also the first to complete actual flight.

This made the instructors and other pilots of the training team look up to him. After all, at the beginning, because he reported the latest and even entered the training team as a civilian, everyone thought he was a relative. But they didn't expect that the other party was so powerful that he even crushed the Zeon elite pilot Gaia who entered the training camp at the same time. Therefore, he was regarded as a thorn in the eyes of the latter.

No matter what Char did, the other party would compete with Char, but unfortunately, Gaia was a rough man, not the delicate and tender Karma, and did not attract Char's attention at all.

"woo woo woo woo……"

On the second day after completing basic space combat training, the training team's combat alert was suddenly sounded.

"Assemble, quick, activate your mobile suits!"

"Is this a combat mission?"

"I guess it's the federal army who's attacking without knowing the consequences!"

"Okay, then I'm going to kill to my heart's content today!"

A group of Zeon pilots who have completed basic training are eager to go to the battlefield and fight the Federation Army right away. However, it was not until they boarded the transport ship in their mobile suits that they learned that it was not the Federation Army that started the war, but a large-scale riot broke out on Zeon's fifteenth colony satellite.

“These damn non-nationals!”

When they learned that it was a satellite riot, many Zeon pilots were naturally disappointed and began to curse. In their view, it was simply treasonous for a group of civilians to be unwilling to contribute their own strength to the sacrifice of the inhabitants of the space.

Only Char remained silent.

In fact, for the residents of Satellite No. 15, Quinzem, who would want to go against a fully armed army unless they really couldn't survive?

Under the influence of Macharius's butterfly wings, the current economic situation of the Principality of Zeon is worse than that in another timeline. Without the blood transfusion from the trade with side6 and the urgent need to strengthen its military strength, the Zeon government can only squeeze the bones and marrow.

The Zenquem colony satellite has no military industry, and its traditional manufacturing industry has declined rapidly due to sanctions. The number of unemployed people on the satellite even accounts for nearly one-third.

As Kilian continued to expand its military, almost all of the young and middle-aged labor force in the satellite was withdrawn, leaving only the elderly, the weak and the sick. However, their food problem was not solved, and they could only rely on the rationing system to barely survive.

However, with the issuance of the mobilization order, Zenquem, which had been drained of its young and middle-aged men, once again faced a huge recruitment gap. A large number of minors aged fifteen to eighteen were forcibly conscripted again. At the same time, because the Zeon government felt that the young and middle-aged men on the satellite had been withdrawn, the demand for food was not that great, so it once again cut the food rations of Zenquem residents. This made the lives of local residents fall into a state of despair.

The women and children, who were starving and cold and whose families had been taken away, had no choice but to gather together and launch a desperate demonstration in the hope of improving their treatment.

But they did not receive a response from the government, but only received a fully armed army!

(End of this chapter)